NOTE: I do not update these reports after they are posted so some of the links may not work after a while. If you find a broken link check the title in the alphabetical lists of alternative or general reviews at the end of this report.

First of all - I have GOT to give SPECIAL MENTION tonight to a story currently in the works that gets more and more outstanding with each section released - DJWP's SEVEN DAYS IN POMPEII. More than a simple fanfic tale - this is a multi-media extravaganza complete with maps and pictures. Tonight we get chapters 18-21 which are INCREDIBLE folks as DJ lets us experience the terror of Pompeii's destruction. This is the MUST READ of the year! For more on the story and these chapters specifically read my review below.

Katrina has established a new "altraverse" through her Web page, this one based on Redhawk's excellent story ONLY ONE which is a XWP/HIGHLANDER crossover tale set in the contemporary world. Katrina is inviting other bards to contribute stories based on Redhawk's premise. For more information check out the INFINITY page at http://whoosh.org/katrina/infinity.html

You might want to stop by this week's WEBMASTER CHAT over at THE PALACE. The WHOOSH room will be hosting Xenabat and Bardeyes, webmasters of the largest XWP fanfic index on the Web - the XENAVERSE CODEX. Come by and thank them for a job well done, learn about how they maintain the index and let them know what other things you'd like to see at the site. The chat will take place Sunday (tommorrow), August 30, at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific. THE PALACE does require special software in order to participate in the chat so do stop by ahead of time to download the software and become familiar with it. The software and all the information about THE PALACE is available at http://whoosh.org/palace/index.html

This year's annual DRAGONCON convention ("America's largest annual convention for fans of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, Comics and Art, Games and Computers, Animation, Science, Music, Television and Films") will be hosting a number of events for Xena/Herc fans including the first ever XENA/HERC DRAGONCON AWARDS. Among other things, awards will be given for Best Xena Fan Fiction and Best Xena Alternative Fan Fiction. Bards do NOT have to attend the convention in order to enter their stories in the competition. If interested go to the HERCULES/XENA TRACK AT DRAGONCON page located at http://www.xenite.org/conventions/dragoncon.htm

Symbiont has added a new English translation of a German XWP fanfic tale called THE PARTY by Clumsynut to the SYMBIONTS DEUTSCHE XENA FAN FICTION PAGE featuring German stories. For this and other English translations check out the fanfic page at http://www.kronach.baynet.de/~symbiont/fanfictiongerman.htm

Tonight I'm adding a section to the report called FANFIC ART. Whenever there are new FANFIC ART pieces I'll mention them there... soon as I find them or some kind soul tells me about them :)

Three terrific updates tonight - all alt.

ALTERNATIVE FICTION:

SEVEN DAYS IN POMPEIIby DJWP
Chapters 18-21 are now available. One of the most popular talents in XWP fanfic returns to once again help us deal with XWS as she did exactly one year ago with the release of the much loved classic A BARD DAY'S NIGHT. Set after the end of season three, DJ's latest finds Xena on a lonely stretch of beach, dazed after the loss of her soulmate, turning to the one place where she knows she'll feel the bard's spirit most of all - in Gabrielle's scrolls. Alone with Argo she begins reading those scrolls and reminiscing back to one of the last adventures they shared while on a fateful visit to a city named...Pompeii. With their relationship still not fully healed from the horror of the rift, this was a time full of insecurities and worries for them but also filled with a renewed sense of hope amidst the infectious joviality of a city preparing for one of its grandest festivals. They are even further drawn into the Pompeiian's excitement when they happen across an old friend well-versed in the art of FUN - the incomparable Sappho who we first me in A BARD DAY'S NIGHT and who is soon once again doing what she does best - getting them all into TROUBLE! DJ's Sappho is one of the greatest creations in fanfic while her treatment of the Xena/Gab partnership remains heartfelt and wonderfully compelling, made even more so this time around by the poignancy of seeing the warrior remember a time when they were both so stubbornly holding on to the love between them. These latest chapters are simply beyond riveting as the warrior and bard finally reaffirm their love in a passionate, beautifully erotic, loving exchange and then find themselves running for their lives as a sleeping mountain awakens to mark the final hours of an ancient city. DJ OFFERS via e-mail but does not include a "HIDDEN CHAPTER" - lets just say I give this chapter my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION ;-) She also includes with these sections some very dramatic pictures of the end of Pompeii including some which from personal experience, having visited the ruins of the city, I can tell you are quite poignant. SEVEN DAYS is a very worthy addition to this bard's outstanding body of work - one of the best to come out this year. It receives my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!! [unfinished] -- 50 pgs. (62 with Hidden Chapter)http://ausxip.com/bards.html#djwp

THE DANGEROUS TRUTHby Curiositee
Chapter 16 is now available. Set in the present day, this FANTASTIC new uber-Xena story gets off to a rousing start as it follows a gutsy young reporter named Bridget Stone on a fateful excursion into the Chicago slums. In search of a lead, she'll find more than she ever bargained for when an assassin tries to end her investigation and a mysterious stranger interferes, one of the many homeless that frequent the slums, only in the blue depths of that stranger's eyes Bridget will sense a connection as old as time. Soon enough the reporter finds herself with two mysteries on her hands as she considers who may be trying to kill her while trying to solve the puzzle that is the woman who saved her...a woman whose tortured past holds secrets only Bridget may be able to uncover. In this latest two old enemies are reunited. Terrific characterizations make Bridget and her indigent savior immediately endearing. Combining suspense, mystery and a sense of pathos this wonderfully written tale is going to leave you anxiously awaiting that next chapter. A great uber drama in the making folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [unfinished] -- 6 pgs.http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/7228/tdt1.htm

DARK PROMISEby Katrina and Sharon Bowers
Chapter five of this story is now available. This latest entry in Katrina's BLOOD AND ROSES SERIES promises to be one wild, fun ride. A crossover tale featuring the characters from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, this story has Buffy getting quite a surprise when she meets Willow's aunts who aside from having the same names as a couple of popular TV characters, also keep setting off the slayer's hypersensitive senses. In this latest chapter contributed by the very talented Sharon Bowers, Xena and Gabrielle consider what to do about Angel while Willow begins to think of new possibilities. Katrina and Sharon's characterizations are on the money and will delight fans of both series although this is entertaining even if you only watch one of them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [unfinished] -- 3 pgs.http://bearblue.150m.com/library2/1990s/STO/brose/buffy/willow.html

For those of you reading this post who are not familiar with the term alternative (alt.), it refers to ADULT stories that add a romantic element to the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, depicting them as more than just friends.